August 16, 2019

by Olena

Instant Pot Chicken Breast (Video)

Name: Instant Pot Chicken Breast
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 17 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: North American
Ingredients: 3 lbs boneless chicken breasts, fresh or frozen*; 1 cup water; 2 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp salt; Ground black pepper, to taste

chicken

August 16, 2019

by Olena

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★★★★★

5 from 23 reviews

Juicy Instant Pot Chicken Breast from fresh or frozen. 25 minutes from start to finish, simple ingredients and no saute. Use for meal prep, quick dinner or you name it.

This pressure cooker chicken breast is my go-to on a busy weeknight or weekend (who am I kidding?!). Often it becomes shredded chicken. Just like Instant Pot whole chicken is any mom’s best friend.

Pressure Cooker Chicken Breast

This Instant Pot chicken breast recipe is easy, simple and forgiving. Don’t you always have a pack of chicken breasts in your freezer?!

Now you can make chicken breast in Instant Pot from fresh or frozen in 30 minutes. I just love Instant Pot!

If you are new to pressure cooking, check out my Instant Pot guide. It explains what happens, why and how to avoid failures.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet but are thinking about buying one, I explain which Instant Pot to buy in my humble opinion.

Also if you are not a blessed electric pressure cooker owner just yet, check out my baked chicken breast recipe. Same easy and simple. Also this chili lime chicken would be good pan fried – in case you don’t have an oven.

What You Will Need:

You really need only chicken breasts and water. Everything else is up to your taste and what you are planning to use cooked chicken breasts for.

If you are adding meat to salads, quesadillas and tostadas, I would not worry about seasonings much.

If you are planning to eat cooked chicken breast alongside quinoa or brown rice and salad (meal prep style), I would pay attention to spices.

Chicken breasts – fresh or frozen.
Salt and pepper.
Garlic powder – if you wish.
Dried herbs – if you like.

How to Cook Fresh Chicken Breast in Instant Pot

Add 1 cup water.
Place trivet on top.
Lay chicken breasts in a single layer.
Sprinkle with spices.
Rub onto each other.
Press Pressure Cook on High for 10 minutes.
Do Natural Release for 5 minutes and then turn pressure valve to Venting.

How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breast in Instant Pot

Cook frozen chicken breasts just like fresh but:

For 15 minutes.
Make sure each breast is separated.

If you add a blob of frozen chicken breasts, you will end up with raw meat inside and overcooked chicken outside.

When you bring fresh chicken from the store, line each breast with small piece of parchment paper before adding to a bag and freezing. Thaw for 5 minutes or run under cold water for easy parchment paper removal.

Check out my Instant Pot frozen chicken breast recipe for detailed info.

What Size of Instant Pot Can I Use?

Any – 3 quart, 5 quart, 6 quart or 8 quart.

Same recipe. Same cooking time. Same water amount.

Just make sure chicken breasts fit in a single layer. If your Instant Pot is small and you want to cook large amount of breasts, do so in a few batches. Piling up chicken in a few layers will result in undercooked chicken.

Also note that larger pressure cooker (like mine – 8 quart) take longer to come to pressure – a bout 8-10 minutes.

Do I Have to Saute Breasts Before Cooking?

I just had to comment. Many recipes online ask you to saute chicken breast before pressure cooking in an effort “to lock in most of juices”. I can assure you I have cooked chicken breast in Instant Pot over 20 times and it comes out juicy if you follow my recipe.

Can I Cook Breasts with Bones?

Yes. Even with skin on, if you wish. Same amount of time.

Does Size of Breast Matter?

6 oz or 10 oz – doesn’t matter. 10 minutes or 15 minutes of pressure cooking is enough time to cook standard American supermarket chicken breasts.

Can I Cook Just One Breast?

Yes, you can. You can cook as many or as little fit into a single layer. Same cooking time.

What to Do with Cooked Chicken Breast

Before we go onto uses for cooked chicken breast major tip – save that broth on the bottom of the pot for making soups. It is basically free chicken broth.:)

Shred meat with 2 forks, refrigerate and use to make tostadas and chicken salad.
Cube to add to healthy cobb salad and chicken broccoli casserole.
Refrigerate whole or cubed and use throughout the week for lunches instead of deli meat.
Freeze for later.

More Healthy Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipes

Did you know we have entire Youtube channel dedicated to healthy Instant Pot recipes and tips? My goal is to help you become confident with your Instant Pot by demonstrating each delicious foolproof recipe in step-by-step videos.

Make sure to subscribe and hit the Bell icon not to miss new videos.

Instant Pot chicken and rice that we make every month!
Instant Pot chicken and potatoes everyone will love, trust me!
Instant Pot chicken tacos come together in one pot.
Instant Pot teriyaki chicken – better than takeout.
And check out over 30 other healthy Instant Pot recipes.

Instant Pot Chicken Breast

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 23 reviews

Juicy Instant Pot Chicken Breast from fresh or frozen. 25 minutes from start to finish, simple ingredients and no saute. Use for meal prep, quick dinner or you name it.

Author: Olena of ifoodreal.com
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 17 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Instant Pot
Cuisine: North American

Scale

Ingredients

3 lbs boneless chicken breasts, fresh or frozen*
1 cup water
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
Ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

To the Instant Pot, add water and place trivet inside. Lay chicken breasts in a single layer (if using frozen make sure they are separated) and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss to coat evenly with tongs or hands.
Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cooking on High for 10 minutes for fresh or 15 minutes for frozen chicken breasts. Display will say ON, Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure, you will see a bit of steam coming out from a valve, then float valve will rise and countdown will begin.
After 10-15 minutes your chicken is ready, Instant Pot will beep and display will say OFF. Wait 5 minutes and do Quick Release by turning sealing valve to Venting position.
Open the lid and your chicken breasts are ready for meal prep, casseroles, salads etc. Shred or cube, and save the stock at the bottom for soup.

Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely and freeze in an airtight container or resealable freezer bags for up to 3 months. Thaw in a fridge or on a counter.

Notes

*If using frozen chicken breasts make sure they are separated. Think about it before freezing a whole tray, separate them with parchment paper.

★ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.

chicken

Hello and welcome to iFOODreal.

My name is Olena Osipov. I'm a mom to 2 boys and a wife to Alex. And this is our healthy family recipes blog. I grew up in Ukraine on real food. As an adult, I tried many diets without results. Now for over 10 years, I cook quick and easy healthy meals for my family. I can help you with “What’s for dinner?” too.

What You Will Find Here

Healthy family recipes with simple ingredients. Many are inspired by my Ukrainian heritage. I share mostly dinner recipes because it just never ends... I’m obsessed with healthy freezer meals. And more than in love with my Instant Pot.

A Little More About Me

Originally from Ukraine, I now reside on magic Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada with my family. I started this blog in 2012 when I ended up at home with 2 small kids unemployed and a wee bit chubby.

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